Indulgence
by scifiromance
Summary: Chakotay becomes inadvertently invested when Seven starts something the Borg kids decide should be a tradition... Belated one-shot for Mother's Day. Fluff and feelings for Seven and the Borg kids, C/7 friendship and flirtation. :)
**A/n: I do not own Star Trek: Voyager.**

* * *

Chakotay always felt guilty when he followed the well-trod route from the Captain's quarters to the Mess Hall. Alright, on the scale of decisions and events he carried guilt over, this weekly choice hardly registered, but it was always enough to add to his indigestion. Hunger would always win out by the time he was ordering the turbolift, and this week it hit him with a particular vengeance. He'd been able to avoid progressing beyond tasting the burnt tinge on Kathryn's latest attempt, mostly because she herself was too distracted to notice. Unimatrix Zero was still on her mind. She hadn't divulged any feelings concerning her partial assimilation beyond admitting that she'd apologised to Seven for 'ever thinking she'd had it easy', but then Chakotay hadn't honestly expected her to. It wasn't as if he'd ever spoken _directly_ about what had happened with the Cooperative…he'd just been reliably antsy about the Borg ever since. So he'd let her draw him into a discussion about what might lay ahead for the rogue Unimatrix, just as impassioned on her side as any conversation about Voyager, until she'd run out of steam. On balance, it was better that she took out any suppressed frustration on her beleaguered recipe book than any of her crew. For that, he'd continue these snack runs to the Mess Hall for the rest of their journey.

He'd expected the Mess Hall to be in near darkness, Kathryn's 'dinner' had run unusually long, but the chill that instantly rippled up his skin startled him. "Computer…" He could see his breath as it puffed around the word it was so cold. "Computer, raise the temperature in this room back to room temperature!" he instructed hurriedly.

"Request denied." The Computer intoned unsympathetically, "Environmental controls within the Mess Hall are locked."

"Unlock them! Access code Chakotay Sigma Four Seven One…" All that earned him was an irritable bleep of denial from the Computer. An irritated groan of his own left Chakotay's lips, "What the hell is going on now?" If, God forbid, Neelix had left another rabid cheese or some such to pollute the environmental system, he swore that he'd…

The solitary light emanating from the galley now struck him as suspect rather than as a welcoming beacon to all midnight snackers but as he headed towards it he stopped in his tracks almost immediately. Seven of Nine was stationed at the main counter, bent intently over a large cake on a silver stand. Her human eye flicked briefly up to his face while the other eye remained fixated on the cake as she painstakingly smoothed the snow white frosting with a flat knife. "Commander." She greeted him nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just heard his one-sided dialogue. But of course she had.

"Seven." He replied stiffly, but curiosity quickly overcame his mildly bruised, embarrassed ego and he sighed. "What are you doing?"

Seven continued skimming the frosting, both eyes now focused on critical examination. Her hand was preternaturally steady. "I am completing this ice-cream cake."

Chakotay blinked at her. If Seven had broken her concentration to look at him, she would've noted that he _almost_ had the Captain's trademark bewildered expression down pat. Finally, he laughed awkwardly, "Oh that explains the temperature, I guess…" His smile widened as his mind made the connection. "For Naomi's birthday tomorrow?"

Seven inhaled sharply, but took care to lower the knife to the table, away from her evening's work, before murmuring a self-conscious answer. "No. Neelix has claimed Naomi's birthday cake as his task…" She watched Commander Chakotay nod in understanding, after all that was the usual form of proceedings, but still he mildly studied her, evidently anticipating an explanation. "This is for Azan." She told him softly, "Not this exact cake, I am merely perfecting the recipe, but…"

"Azan?" Chakotay echoed, coming up to the counter to admire the cake as he smiled encouragingly in the face of her shyness. "What amazing thing did he do to earn all this?" he asked lightly.

"I do not reward the children with confectionary." Seven reminded him firmly. Chakotay heard the implied 'And you'd better not either' loud and clear in her tone.

"I know." He assured her good-naturedly, "All of their class teachers follow your rules." He met her gaze, his own twinkling slightly. "Why the cake then?"

"Because…" Seven sighed shortly, her breath billowing around her, as she absently passed the knife from hand to hand. She realised what she was doing and set it aside, pinning her hands to her sides before starting again. "Naomi's upcoming birthday was of interest to the children. The twins and Mezoti especially expressed a desire to know their birthdays, but the Borg do not hold such records…" The immediacy of the empathic comprehension on Chakotay's face made a thick lump settle oddly in her throat, any more words cleaving to it, left unspoken.

"What did you say to them?" He asked gently.

"I…" Seven took a deep breath, "We agreed that they could assign themselves appropriate birthdays. Icheb became involved also, although his actual birthday is probably in the records his…parents offered us."

Chakotay let her glance away from him to hide the lingering pain and anger in her face. Icheb's parents, if they could be said to be worthy of the title, were still understandably a very sore point for Seven. Though Icheb seemed to have made peace with the situation, he could understand why the boy would take up the chance to distance himself from them. "So Azan and Rebi got first pick did they?" he questioned, smoothly shifting gears. "I presume they still share a birthday?"

"Of course." Seven confirmed with a tiny smirk, "They embrace the fact that they are twins. As for 'first pick'…" She sighed again, though more good-humouredly.

"It got a little complicated?" Chakotay guessed?"

"Originally they all wanted to share the same day, a collective birthday." Seven confided. Chakotay's wince mirrored her own. "But I dissuaded them from that." She smiled weakly, "Then they suggested consecutive days…"

Chakotay chuckled, trust kids to push their luck! "Ugh, sounds like a recipe for a week long sugar rush!"

"My sentiment exactly." Seven agreed with a wry twitch of her lips. "Eventually, we agreed on consecutive weeks." She exhaled as she looked over the counter at his amused expression. "I may need to request a lighter shift schedule this month Commander."

"You've got it!" Chakotay assured her with a warm laugh.

"You don't need to consult your rota?" Seven questioned, unable to stop hurt interfering with her doubtful frown. Was she that dispensable?

"Seven…" Chakotay began gently, reading her expression astutely, "You regularly pull twice the number of shifts I actually assign you, of course I'm going to let you cut that back."

"Yes." Seven answered stiffly, "Of course. Thank you Commander."

Chakotay studied her for a moment, noting the creped, fragile, purplish skin under her eyes and the absence of colour in her cheeks. She was exhausted, and yet he suspected she'd gladly spent tonight perfecting a trial run cake rather than regenerating. Obviously it wasn't just Kathryn, B'Elanna and Tuvok he'd need to think of when considering the after-effects of Unimatrix Zero, as quietly convinced as Kathryn seemed to be that the effects on Seven would _eventually_ be positive. "So…did Azan choose ice-cream cake then?" He asked, trying to restore the conversation's former warmth.

"Yes, I decided to let them each choose which cake they wanted." Seven confirmed, distractedly indicating a PADD by her side. Worry briefly creased her brows. "Do you believe that was too indulgent of me?"

Chakotay shook his head resolutely, "No. It's always what my mother let my sister and I do." Seven's face instantly relaxed at the endorsement, though she looked momentarily surprised, and touched, by the mention of his mother. Perhaps she was right to be, he was well aware of the fact that he rarely spoke of his mother. Quickly, he reached for the PADD, interested in what the kids had chosen. He licked his lips at the sight of the delectable picture, "Yum, who picked the 'Strawberry Layer Cake'?" There were full slices of strawberry in the filling between the layers of sponge!

"None of them." Seven mumbled, her cheeks suddenly flooded with a blush the colour of said strawberries. "I was merely looking at that recipe…" Hurriedly, her finger swiped at the PADD to move the recipe on, "Icheb chose carrot cake…"

Chakotay smiled knowingly, "Because he thought it might be healthier?"

Seven choked on a laugh, "I believe that was part of his logic, though it is fundamentally flawed."

"But it's delicious either way." Chakotay told her confidently.

Seven was confused for a split second. "But you don't like carrots." She pointed out unthinkingly.

How the hell does she know that? Chakotay wondered, then shrugged it off. "Cake makes everything taste better." He explained boldly.

"Is that so?" Seven questioned wryly before finding the recipe she wanted to show him on the PADD. "Mezoti wants this."

"Christmas cake? Christmas cake for her birthday?"

Seven shrugged helplessly, "She likes the idea of the combination. She's very taken with Christmas at the moment, despite being Norcadian…"

"Well, Mezoti always does like to push the boat out…" Chakotay remarked with a chuckle, "And why not? It might spoil Christmas for her though…"

"Christmas isn't widely celebrated on Voyager…" Seven reminded him.

"Oh it is." Chakotay corrected her, "Privately. It's just a painful time of year for many of us, away from our families. But with more children aboard this year, maybe we should make an effort…"

"Perhaps." Seven agreed, "It is months away." She shook her head, "I was going to substitute the Christmas cake for fruit cake anyway, since Christmas cake apparently needs to rest for months to gain optimum taste, and since it contains alcohol, is hardly suitable…"

"Maybe not." Chakotay conceded, "And what about Rebi? Since his brother is going to get this massive ice-cream cake…"

"I'm going to reduce the size." Seven said defensively, "Part of the reason for practising with this cake is to calculate how to alter the recipe for reduced size."

Chakotay regarded the cake ruefully, "That seems a shame, what if everyone wants to get in on the party?"

"They will have Rebi's cake to consume also." Seven pointed out, "A chocolate fudge cake, just like Naomi is having tomorrow."

"Rebi wanted the same cake as Naomi?"

"Naomi consented to it…" Seven started to assure him, but Chakotay shaking his head stopped her.

"Does he have a little crush on her?" He asked thoughtfully.

Seven gaped at him. "He's hardly old enough for that!" she exclaimed.

Chakotay shrugged, "Never too young or too old as far as I'm concerned." Seven's eyes had widened in realisation, he could practically see her piecing previously unremarkable instances together.

"How am I supposed to monitor that?" she asked tiredly, completely at a loss.

"You don't need to monitor it Seven." Chakotay reassured her gently, trying not to smile and failing. "It's completely normal, a little puppy love, that's all. As long as he's not going overboard with the teasing or anything…"

"Teasing?" Seven echoed, "He's not teasing her, just following her around, acting shy when she talks…" She stared at Chakotay blankly, "How does teasing show endearment?"

"You'd be surprised." Chakotay said, "Mostly it's about attention, I used to reach over my desk and unravel Mireya Sanchez's braids, then hide her ribbons…"

"And that made her return your affection?" Seven asked dubiously.

Chakotay gave a rumbling laugh, "Not exactly, but she did chase me around wanting her ribbons back, so I spent practically whole days with her…"

"Your logic was flawed, yet effective then." Seven commented drily.

"Most men grow out of that logic, but some don't and call it flirting." Chakotay told her jokingly.

"I hope you grew out of it Commander." Seven reprimanded him baldly, "I won't encourage such behaviour in Rebi."

"And so you shouldn't, my parents didn't tolerate it in me either. I got punishment and a lecture on how to approach girls properly."

"I am glad to hear it." Seven declared with a small smirk, then felt suddenly self-conscious, her attention retreating back to the cake. "I should put this in the freezer…"

"You practically turned this whole room into a freezer!" Chakotay griped with a shiver, "Do I even want to know how you locked the environmental controls in here?"

"I had to keep the cake cold!" Seven justified with a jut of her chin, avoiding the question.

Chakotay sighed heavily, but the look he shot her was more amused than annoyed. "Give me a slice of that cake and we'll call it quits."

Seven hardly hesitated in obligingly serving him a generous slice. "'Quits' it is." She agreed, only certain she'd understood the phrase when he laughed and took the offered fork.

* * *

"Good afternoon Commander!" Neelix greeted cheerily as Chakotay entered the Mess Hall, "I'm afraid lunch is going to be a little…delayed."

"Really?" Chakotay glanced sceptically around the Hall, where a good number of his crewmates were chowing down on full plates.

Neelix followed his gaze and chuckled sheepishly, "My first course went down well, I've been cleared out unfortunately."

"No problem." Chakotay assured him, "I've got rations…"

"Oh no, if you'd just wait a few minutes…" Neelix fussed, "My Floxian savory soufflé will soon be ready, it's in the oven while we decide on our special project…"

"Special project?" Chakotay repeated slowly, knowing Neelix it could be anything. He had no idea what made a soufflé 'Floxian' and the Talaxian didn't even consider that special.

"It's our fault Commander." Naomi spoke up apologetically, appearing behind the counter beside her godfather and impatiently gesturing at Icheb, who Chakotay now saw was standing shamefacedly deeper within the galley. "Neelix is helping us."

Chakotay smiled widely at the girl but couldn't help raising his eyebrows slightly at Icheb. "Did you finally take Neelix up on culinary lessions?"

"Not exactly Commander." Icheb answered, "But for this task we require his expertise…"

Naomi couldn't wait for Icheb to finish let alone for Chakotay to ask what the task was. "We're going to make a birthday cake for Seven!" she told him excitedly, "Well, actually it was her birthday while you two were stuck on Ledosia, so we're late, but…"

"I…I don't think she'll mind." Chakotay advised her kindly, though he was a bit taken aback, he quickly realised he shouldn't be at all.

"She started it." Icheb interrupted seriously, "Though I do not think she ever intended for her gestures towards us children to be returned, Mezoti made me promise to proceed with her plan to surprise Seven on her behalf before she left, and Azan and Rebi supported the idea." Chakotay was suddenly glad, even more than he had been at the time, that all four children had had the chance of Voyager 'birthdays' before the younger three had moved on, but Icheb seemed to misread his expression as disapproval. "Do we have your blessing Commander?"

"Of course Icheb, though you don't need it for this."

"It is proving more problematic than I thought." Icheb admitted, "Seven is hard to surprise in the first place, and now, during the one window we have to make the cake…" He shot Naomi an accusing look, "…the decision on which variety of cake to make is progressing too slowly."

"Hey!" Naomi shot back indignantly, waving the PADD in her hand around wildly, "Do you know how many recipes of cake there are in here to choose from?"

"Four thousand, nine hundred and twenty three." Icheb responded without missing a beat.

Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. " _Exactly_ , Icheb. How are we supposed to choose?"

Chakotay cleared his throat as he exchanged glances with a wearying Neelix. "Could I have a look?" Naomi looked surprised as she handed him over the PADD, but he just winked at her. Within a few moments he'd handed it back.

A beaming smile spread across Naomi's face as she read the recipe he'd selected to show her. "Oh, that's just…"

"Perfect." Icheb finished succinctly, a rare, and grateful, grin flashing across his face. "We are much obliged Commander."

Naomi remembered her manners to the extent that she almost saluted Chakotay. "Thank you Commander." But soon enthusiasm bubbled over formality, "I can't believe we didn't think of a strawberry cake! Seven loves strawberries…"

"To be exact, it's a Strawberry Layer Cake." Icheb clarified, having taken the PADD to examine the recipe himself.

"Let's just get on with making it before Seven is finished in Astrometrics shall we?" Neelix suggested, so relieved that a decision had been made that he didn't notice Chakotay slipping back out of the Mess Hall.

* * *

"You didn't tell me it was your birthday while we on Ledosia."

Seven didn't turn around to face the warm, mildly disappointed voice. "Would knowing that have made you less likely to fly over the shield?"

Chakotay scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he recalled those few minutes on the shuttle craft. "Uhh…more likely." He admitted sheepishly.

Seven started to turn to catch his eye over her shoulder, but thought better of it. Though that particular away mission had proved that she could push her cortical node so far, she had to be careful, it had been her _choice_ to be careful. "Since someone _certainly_ should not find beauty irrelevant on their birthday?" She hoped she was now skilled enough in conveying lightness of tone that the strain she felt in her throat was well hidden.

She heard him shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, and knew he was now running a hand through his hair as he made a sound between a sigh and a laugh. "You said it, not me." He eventually answered.

"You _would_ have said it, if you had known." Seven pointed out as she spun to face him, holding out the usual PADD. "The daily report for Astrometrics."

Chakotay didn't take it straight away, well aware of the fact that the exchange of the report generally marked the end of any conversation. A silent, mutually agreed upon, inoffensive dismissal back when their daily meeting had been a forced trial for each of them. "But I didn't know." He reminded her quietly.

"Because it is irrelevant." Seven stated brusquely, straightening defensively. "Besides, isn't it customary for human women to be…deceptive about their age?"

Chakotay's lips flicked upwards briefly at the moment of distaste, as well as bafflement, on Seven's face as she said that. "You're both too young and not pretentious enough for that Seven."

Seven blinked, unsure how she should take that statement. "I will try to remember that." She replied gamely.

"Also remember that your birthday isn't irrelevant to everyone."

"Why do you say that?" Seven asked, suspicion rapidly dawning as she realised Chakotay was struggling not to give her that grin of his, the one that always remained with her. "Chakotay, what is going on?" she asked bluntly, hands on her hips as she forget herself and easily used his name rather than his rank. She studied him through narrowed eyes, "How did you discover it was my birthday three days ago?"

"Well…" Chakotay hedged. He was started to feel a little guilty that he'd given wind of Icheb and Naomi's surprise, but he was enjoying witnessing her reaction too much. "I shouldn't say anything else…"

"Commander Chakotay…" Seven began in hot exasperation.

"You know what?" He interrupted with a laugh, taking her firmly by the elbow as he finally relieved her of the Astrometrics report. "Just come with me, okay?"

* * *

 **A/n: I intended to have this up for Mother's Day yesterday, but didn't type quick enough, sorry! I hope it's enjoyable, please review. :)**

 **Everyone should check out 'Fair Trade' by Keflavik319, it's a sweet, fun take on what might've happened between Seven and Chakotay between 'Natural Law' and 'Endgame'.**


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